Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet broke world records in spectacular style at the Diamond League meeting in Eugene, Oregon.
Kipyegon stormed to victory the women’s 1500m with a time of three minutes 48.68 seconds – breaking her own world record by 0.36 seconds.
The achievement comes just over a week after the three-time Olympic 1500m champion, 31, failed in her bid to become the first woman in history to run a sub-four-minute mile.
Her compatriot Chebet set a new women’s 5,000m record with a time of 13:58.06, shaving more than two seconds off the previous record set by Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay in Eugene two years ago.
Chebet, 25, now holds both world records and Olympic titles in the 5,000m and 10,000m.
“When I was coming here to Eugene, I was coming to prepare to run a world record,” she said. “I’m so happy.”
The pair were among 17 individual champions from the Paris Olympics and 14 world-record holders in action in a star-studded event, also known as the Prefontaine Classic.Matt Hudson-Smith was the highlight on a mixed evening for British athletes, posting a season’s best 44.10 to win the men’s 400m ahead of American duo Christopher Bailey and Jacory Patterson.
British record holder Zharnel Hughes also ran a season’s best of 9.91 to finish second in the men’s 100m, behind Olympic silver medallist Kishane Thompson of Jamaica, who posted a time of 9.85.
Jemma Reekie equalled her season’s best of 1:58.66 to finish seventh in the women’s 800m. Paris gold medallist Keely Hodgkinson, whose return from a hamstring injury was delayed by a setback in April, did not compete.
Ethiopa’s Tsige Duguma, silver medallist behind Hodgkinson in Paris, won in a time of 1:57.10.
Dina Asher-Smith finished seventh in the women’s 100m, with American Melissa Jefferson-Wooden surging to victory in 10.75 and ahead of Olympic champion Julien Alfred.
Jake Wightman finished eighth and Neil Gourley 12th in the Bowerman Mile. The race was won in stunning fashion by Dutchman Niels Laros, who reeled in American Yared Nuguse in the final 10 metres and pipped him on the line by 0.01 seconds.
Elsewhere, Sweden’s world record holder Armand Duplantis comfortably won the men’s pole vault with a height of 6.00m.
Two-time Olympic 400m hurdles champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone equalled a season’s best 49.43 to hold off fellow Americans Aaliyah Butler and Isabella Whittaker.
The Diamond League will move to Monaco next before the series visits the UK for a sold-out London Athletics Meet on 19 July.
The finals will take place in Zurich on 27 and 28 August – just over a fortnight before the start of the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan.
